French Indian call for joint research and innovation project proposals in « Green Hydrogen Innovations for Sustainable Energy Solutions » (GH2SES)

On 18 January 2024, at the second meeting of the Indo-French Joint Committee for Science and Technology (JCST) in Delhi, it was agreed that the French National Research Agency (ANR) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India would set up co-funded calls for research projects proposals to catalyse renewed and strengthened scientific cooperation between France and India.

The aim of this first call is to consolidate Franco- Indian research networks in hydrogen and create new ones. Through a bilateral funding, both organizations seek to fund innovative binational projects that demonstrate strong synergy between the teams in each country and real integration of joint work, i.e. effective cooperation between the Franco-Indian partners. Partners will work together as a joint team with complementary competencies in one common project, creating a joint output. 

The target of this Franco-Indian call is to enhance value creation through research and innovation for the development of new technologies, solutions, services, and business models on the following two topics, along with subtopics that can contribute:

1. Innovations for electrochemical hydrogen production or fuel-cells, e.g.
   • Alternatives to rare and costly electro-catalyzers for electrolyzers or fuel cells
   • Bio-inspired catalyst design for green hydrogen production
   • Natural enzyme-based hydrogen production
      
2. Research on hydrogen carriers and storage, e.g.
   • Chemical hydrogen carriers like ammonia (advances in the chain, such as synthesis/ cracking processes)
   • Liquid hydrogen carriers like Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHC)
   • Materials-based hydrogen storage like hydrides

Project proposals must be submitted in parallel by the national coordinators on the submission platforms of the ANR and the DST, following the required format and submission guidelines.

The details on eligibility conditions are specified in the call text available further down on this page in the Documents section. The template to be used for project proposals is also available in this section.